Instrument for reproduction of pictures, &amp;c.



H. W. PROHNLg INSTRUMENT FOB. REPRODUCTION OF PICTURES, &G.

l APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1908.

l 920,450. Panamay 4, 1909.y

w/rf/EA t i. v' A :I ylnvgon "It NoRnlx PETERS (0.. wAsmNaroN. D. c,

HENRY W. FROHNE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

INSTRUT/IENT FOR REPRODUCTIGN OF PICTURES, 86e.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1909.

Application filed January 13, 1908. Serial No. 410,479.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, HENRY TN. FROHNE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented cer- 1 tain new and useful improvements in instruments for determiningI whether pictures and the like may be reproduced on a proportionally reduced or enlarged scale to suitably occupy fixed areas or spaces intended for them on printed sheets, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in instruments for determining whether pictures and the like may be reproduced on a proportionally reduced or enlarged scale to suitably occupy fixed areas or sp aces intended for them on printed sheets, and it consists, more particularly in an instrument, hereinafter described and claimed, for enabling publishers, engravers and illustrators to l quickly and accurately determine whether the subject of a photograph, drawing or other illustration may be proportionally enlarged or reduced to the fixed dimensions of a space on the page of a magazine or elsewhere within which it may be desired to reproduce the same by printing from half-tone plates or other process.

A publisher having a given space on a page to receive an illustration will necessarily know that the picture (any picture) can be reduced or enlarged, as the case may be, in respect of either its height or width to the height or width of such space but he cannot determine without calculation or means of ascertainment whether the picture may be proportionally reduced or enlarged to 'lit both the height and width of his space. For instance, a publisher having a space four inches high and two and one-half inches wide to receive a reproduction cannot know without calculation or proper means of ascertainment whether a picture if proportionally reduced or enlarged to four inches in height will be suitable to the two and one-half inch width of his space or if reduced or enlarged to two and one-half inches in width will be suitable for the four inch height of his space.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, convenient and eilicient instrument for enabling a publisher or other person to instantly determine whether a picture or the like may be proportionally reduced or enlarged to suit both the height au d width of a given space or outline.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the instrument that its parts may be folded together into convenient form to be carried in the pocket.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top elevation of an instrument embodying my invention shown applied to a diagrammatically indicated photograph with the view of determining whether the same may be reproduced on a proportionally reduced or enlarged scale to suitably occupy a given space provided or left to receive it, Fig. 2- is an elevation of the instrument in its folded condition, Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same on the dotted line 4%4 of Fig. 2.

The instrument comprises three main parts or blades numbered, respectively, 10, 11 and 12, the blade 10 being a graduated scale formed with a vertical longitudinal slot 13 whose lower portion is widened, as at 14, to create a guide and bearing surfaces for the head of a screw 15, and the blade 11 being a graduated scale apertured at its lower end passing upon the screw 15 and connected to the blade 10 by means of said screw and a thump-nut 16 applied thereto. The blade 12- does not require to be graduated and it is connected at its lower end to one end of the blade 10 by means of a screw 17 and thumb-nut 18, said screw 17 having its head seated within a socket formed in the lower surface of said blade 12, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, while the shank of the screw extends upwardly through said blade 12 and thence upwardly through the slot 13 of the blade 10 and has applied upon its upper end the thumb-nut 18. rlfhe blade 12, by reason of its use hereinafter er;- plained, may be designated as a diagonal blade and it extends at an angle below the blades 10, 11 and is entirely free of the blade 11, having no direct connection therewith. The lower side of the blade 11 is upon the upper side of the blade 10.

The heads of the screws 15, 17 are square in horizontal outline to prevent the rotation of the screws, but the Shanks of the screws are round and hence upon the loosening of the thumb-nuts 16, 18, the blades 11, 12 may have a pivotal movement to any extent desired. When the thumb-nut 16 is Aloosened the blade 11 may be adjusted to any required position along the slot 13 and blade 10, and when the nut 18 is loosened the blade 12 may be given any required inclined or diagonal position and wlicnever necessary adjusted by the Vmovement ofthe screw 1T in its end of the slot 13 sui'iiciently to bring the upper or left hand edge of said blade in line with the Zero mark, denoted at 1Q, on the blade 10.

The Yadjustment-of the blade 12 bythe movement of the screw 17-along the slot is of `importance since thereby the instrument is adapted to rectangular pictures varying `greatly in their outlines. ln the employment of the instrument the operative'edgeoftheblade 12 and the lower left hand corner ofthe picture 21 must be at the zeroiinarlr 19 of the blade 10, and since said redge of saidblade will assuine'various posi- .tions vwith relation to saidzero marlies said blade is inclined with respect to `theshapes of thepicturesto which the instrument may be applied, I provide for the adjustment of the blade :12 longitudinally ofthe blade 10, byiineans ofthe slot 13, screw 17and nutlS, so that-in whatever inclination the blade 12 may be `placed its `lower end may 1be adjusted to bring the operative edge ofthe blade infline with-the/Zeromark 19.

rlheupper-endet .the blade 11 is formed vwitha notch 20 `which is not usedexcept in the foldingof the blades 10, 11, 12 together in thecondition shown'in Figs. .2, 3 and et and which is accomplished by moving the screw 15 tothe right hand-end of the vslot 13 land turning the blade-down and toward the left until it is upon the'blade 10, the nut 18 having vpreviously been screwed upwardly so Athat the notch 2() may pass upon the screw 17. After the blade 11 .hasfbeen foldedfuponthe blade 1() with the notch 2O engaging the screw 17, it maybe .locked in -such position by tightening the nut 1S upon it.

l/Vhile the nut 18 is-loosened the blade 212 will be folded down toward the right unti it is directly below the blade 10. It is of vvery great advantage-to be able to foldthe :blades 10, 11, r12 upon one another, since .the-instrument when in such condition may .be lconveniently carried in the pocket or .placed away and will be in no danger of becoming destroyed or broken.

lnFig. 1 lhave shown theinstrument as a plied to a diagrammatically represented -p iotograph 21 for the purpose of illustrating the method of determining tlieheight a proportionally reduced reproduction .thereof Awould have ifits width had to be two and one-half inches in order to meet .the width of :the space on fa :printed sheet. .A Ypubor may readily ascertain ythe height of the 19 on said blade.

I printed sheet,

space, but he cannot know without careful calculation oi' suitable means of ascertainnient, whether a reproduction from a photo- .graph.proportionally reduced to a two and one-'half inch width will in height be suitable for the space on the sheet. In the use ofthe instrument/to determine what would/be the Vheight' of the picture if proportionally reduced to a two and one-half inch width., the

publisher or illustrator ywill .place theinstrument upon thephotegraph 2.1 inthe manner indicated. inFig. 1, the lower edge 4of the photograph being in line with `the upper edge of the blade 1() and. the lower leftahand corner of the photograph at the :Zero point Thereupon -he .will turn the blade 12 until its outer 'edge extends diagonally from the lower left hand corner to the upper right hand corner-ofthe photograph, asshown, and thenfadjust the -blade 11 along the slot 13 until the graduatededge thereof reaches the .two yand one-half :inch niark on the blade 10, as indicatedv bythe dotted lines in Fig. 1 The blade111 is-moved to the two and one-halfinchmarkon vthe blade 10, becaiiseit-is known that the proportional reductionof tl'iephotograph must iit a two and one-half inchwide-space.onithe The height of ,the proportionally reduced photograph lto a two .and one-half inch width `will `be given on :the blade 11 at the exactpoint vwhere its 4graduated. edge crosses the outer edge of theblade 12, which inthe present instance wouldfindicate l'our and one-half inches, :thus showing that a reproduction of the pholegraplnpreportionally reduced to -av two land :one-half inch width would require a spacefouriand one-half inches high. `li'revery instance if Vthe publisher or villustrator calculates from the width of the space provided to receive the picture, he willadjustthe blade llalong the blade 10 te apoint denoting such width and always cause the blade 12 to extend diagonally from corner to-corner of the ,picture. The height required for tl'iepicturefif VproportionallyT reduced `to the 4width .gi-ven In determining this height, on an enlargement, the `blade 12 wou'ldbe caused to eX- tend diagonally from corner to cornerof-the vpicture or ,photograph and the .blade 11 adjusted .toward the rright beyond the Aright hand edge of the pictureiin*accordance with 1() at the edge of the blade l1.

the given width to which the picture is to be enlarged. The height of the enlargement will always be denoted on the blade 11 at the point where its graduated edge crosses the outer edge of the blade 12.

lt has been explained how the instrument may be used for determining the height a reproduction of a picture either on a proportional reduction or enlargement to a predetermined width, will present. The same instrument may, however, be used to determine the width a reproduction, either reduced or enlarged, will have on a calculation made from the height (in lieu of the width) of the 'lixed space to receive the same. lf, for illustration, the picture on its reproduction had to be reduced to a height of tour and one-halt` inches, it would be desired to ascertain what the width of the thus reduced picture will be, and the instrument having been applied te the picture as shown in t'ull lines in Fig. l, the blade 11 would be moved to the left until the four and one-halt' inch mai-li on its graduated edge reached the outer edge of the )lade 12. T ie width of the picture thus reduced to a. four and one-half inch height would be given on the blade 10, and as denoted by the dotted position of the blade 11, would be two and one-half inches. Gn an enlargement the blade 11 would be moved outwardly along the blade 1() until the proper graduation niark on its edge coincided with the edge oi the blade 12, and the width of the enlargement would be denoted on the blade rlhus a publisher knowing either the width or height to which a picture must be proportionally reduced or enlarged to suitably occupy a space can, by means of the instrument, determine the other dimension (width or height) the picture will present when reduced or enlarged, and he may thereby accuratelyT and quickly ascertain whether the reduced or enlarged picture will have appropriate dimensions in both directions for the space intended to receive it.

'l he blade 11 is provided at right angles to its length with a guide-line 22 which serves as an aid to the operator in placing the blade 11 at a right angle to the blade 10, said line 22 when saidl blades are at a right angle to cach other appearing in line with the graduated edge of the blade 10.

Vhat l claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. ln an instrument of the character described, a horizontal graduated and longitudinally slotted blade 10, a vertical graduated blade 11 having its lower end crossing said blade 10, a screw extended through the slot of the blade 1() and the blade 11 and provided with a thumb-nut, a diagonal blade 12 adapted to extend diagonally from corner to corner of a picture regardless of the position of the blade 11 and being free thereof, and a screw passing through the lower end of said blade 12 and the blade 10 and having a thumb-nut thereon, said blades 10, 11 being adapted by their graduations to respectively denote the width and height a proportionally reduced or enlarged reproduction of a picture will have when the blade 12 is extended diagonally from cerner to corner across the picture and the blade 11 is moved to cross said blade 12, and the slot in said blade being widened at its lower ortion to receive and a'liord a guide for the lead of the screw of the blade 11 substantially as set forth.

ln an instrument of the character described, a horizontal graduated and longitudinally slotted blade 10, a vertical graduated blade 11 having its lower end crossing said blade 10, a screw extended through the slet oi the blade 10 and the blade 11 and provided with a thumb-nut, a diagonal blade 12 adapted to extend diagonally from corner to corner of a picture regardless of the position of the blade 11 and being free thereof, and a screw passing through the lower end of said blade 12 and the blade 10 and having a thumb-nut thereon, said blades 10, 11 being adapted by their graduations to respectively denote the width and height a proportionally reduced or enlarged reproduction of a picture will have when the blade 12 is extended diagonally from cerner to corner across the picture and the blade.11 is moved to cross said blade 12, and the screw for the blade 12 being adjustable longitudinally of the blade 10 for bringing the operative edge of the blade 12, in the various inclinations of the latter, in line with the zero mark on the blade 10, whereby the instrument becomes adapted to pictures varying in rectangular shapes substantially as set forth.

Signed at the city of New York, in the l county and State of New York, this 11th day of January, 1908. v

HENRY W. FROHNE.

lwlitnesses CHAs. C. GILL, ARTHUR MARION. 

